Chapter 3:
"I didn't know what Reynarc wanted me to say. He thought I was helping the Volostrians build weapons to use against them. I never found out who they were."
She began to lose focus. "Sir, I tried contracting you when they attacked. I was hit from behind. Too fast. I'm sorry. Not strong enough." She closed her eyes mumbling words to herself, 'not strong', 'sorry', 'didn't talk', 'sorry, sir.' The words stopped; her head slumped forward as she lost consciousness.
"Dammit, Carter," he said out loud to the empty briefing room snapping the pencil into he was mindlessly twisting in his anxious fingers. "You're sorry?"
She was placed in a small metal box no wider than five feet across and six feet tall. Rigid shackles were attached to her hands and ankles. It was impossible to stand and hand mobility was minimal. Her movements were monitored constantly. She had not slept for days, how many she could not say. Her confinement was a vicious battle, the desire to sleep versus the icy water that was dumped on her when her body began to win the fight. Carter could feel herself beginning to succumb again to the sleep her body so desperately craved. She lay on the metal floor in a fetal position cold, wet, her body shaking from the icy water and effects of sleep deprivation. Her door opened. She did not bother to look up knowing the water would be next.
"Move, prisoner!" The words yelled at her as two guards grabbed her arms and jerked her off the floor. She could barely stand. Her muscles were weak from disuse, lack of sleep and food. She felt as if she would collapse in a boneless heap back to the floor if the guards let go of her arms. One guard removed the rigid shackles from her ankles and began replacing them with ones that would allow her to walk.
The door to her cell was left open and there were only two guards. She saw this as her opportunity to attempt an escape although she did not know how far she would get in her current condition. She quickly raised her leg and kicked the kneeling guard with what strength she had, it would not be much but she hoped it was enough to get out. The guard collapsed to the floor. She slammed the back of her head into the standing guard, the crunch of breaking bone reassuring her attack succeeded. The guard fell to the floor unmoving. She moved toward the open door, adrenaline propelling her weakened body forward. When she reached the door, she paused for a brief moment contemplating which direction to take. A hood was always on her head or she was unconscious when she was brought into the corridor. She chose right, left she knew lead toward her interrogation room.
Carter ran as fast as her exhausted body allowed her; the corridor seemed to stretch for miles. It was empty and eerily silent; the only sounds were her bare feet against the floor. She spared a glance behind her to see if the guards were following; she was not alone. A guard stumbled out of her cell and started running toward her. Alarms started blaring. The corridor abruptly ended at a locked door. She was trapped.
The guard approached her position. More guards were approaching from the other end of the corridor. Carter prepared to defend herself. She tried to land another kick to his body as the guard headed straight for her position. He parried her weak kick and slammed her against the wall. She slid to the floor gasping for breath from the guard's tackle helpless to defend herself when he started pummeling her with kicks and punches to her body.
She thought the beating would never end or that unconsciousness would never claim her. She finally felt the blackness beginning to overtake her when she heard his voice.
"Enough."
"But the prisoner tried to escape."
"She will be duly punished, bring her."
She knew where she was even before she was fully conscious. She felt the cool metal table against her face and the pull of the shackles against her ankles and wrists. She was really beginning to hate this room. Moaning slightly, she slowly lifted her head and met the eyes of Reynarc.
"You tried to escape."
"Just stretching my legs and getting some fresh air." She replied in her best Colonel O'Neill imitation bracing herself for the backlash from the guard standing behind her.
"You killed one of my guards." He slid his chair closer to the table and leaned in close to her face. "Samantha…" He pronounced her name slowly familiarly, "what am I going to do with you?"
Carter found it odd that Reynarc had begun calling her by her first name instead of prisoner. "You could let me go."
Reynarc leaned back in his chair smiling at her comment. "Let you go," his smile turning into a deep sadistic laugh, "but you and I are having such fun."
O'Neill wandered aimlessly down the hallway lost in his thoughts. He stopped suddenly when he was standing in front of the door to Carter's lab. He found himself here almost everyday. It had been over a month since Carter had been taken prisoner by the Midgren. Over four weeks of waiting, powerless to help. He walked into her lab careful not to touch anything breakable and sat down in her chair. He picked up a pencil and began spinning it in circles on her desktop.
"If you keep spinning that pencil you're going to put a hole in Sam's desk." He looked up surprised to see Daniel leaning against the door to the lab.
"At least I'm doing something, Daniel." He said continuing to turn the pencil. "The SGC and the Volostrians certainly aren't doing anything to find Carter."
Daniel winced at the words. "Jack."
"No, Daniel, I don't want to hear it." He stopped spinning the pencil and looked angrily at Daniel. "They knew about the Midgren, knew they were some wacko extremist military group, knew they thought the Volostrians were planning on attacking, hell they probably were. They used us, used Carter. They let her walk into that facility…" He abruptly stopped his ranting and turned his attention back to the pencil.
"Jack, they're looking for her." Daniel responded trying to placate his friend's foul mood.
"You know, that's the thing, I don't think they are. I think they know exactly where she is and aren't doing a damn thing about it." The pencil stopped and flew across the room.
"Why? Why would they do that?"
"Think about it, Daniel, they're afraid. They're supposed to be the dominant power on Volostra but it's all an act and they're afraid the Midgren are going to call their bluff."
"I think they called it."
"Yeah."
He felt like a voyeur witnessing Carter's suffering. She was unconscious for thirty minutes, thirty agonizing minutes he watched her barely breathing on the tape. She awoke with a jerk; she was startled and tried to move further against the wall as if trying to protect herself. From what? He could only imagine what dark place she was in.
The sudden movements caused her to groan loudly, the unexpected activity aggravating her injuries. She took several deep, labored breaths. She looked forward and noticed the camcorder was still recording, a look of regret shown on her face.
She took another breath, "sorry about napping on the job," trying to make light of her weakness.
"Carter, only you, would be apologizing for passing out after what you've been through." He said aloud to the television screen. "What did you go through?"
She began again, "Tried to escape…"
For days, weeks, she was confined to her cell. There was no light or physical contact with anyone. The only sounds she heard were her voice reciting equations, the periodic table of elements, computer programs, the Air Force Code of Conduct and the small door flap to her cell when the meager rations of water and food, enough to barely keep her alive were shoved through. She was determined not to give Reynarc the simple pleasure of watching her slowly lose her mind, which she was.
'Samantha.' Reynarc's voice whispered in her mind, 'are you having fun? It won't be long now.'
"Go away!" She yelled into the darkness gripping her head with her hands willing the voice to disappear. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to fight the demons of her mind.
'Samantha, I'm hurt.'
"Go away" she said again pleading the whispers to leave. "You're not real. You…are…not…. real"
'Carter.'
She was huddled into the corner of her cell trying to get as far away from the voices as she could when she heard her name, recognized the familiar voice, "sir?"
Her door opened unexpectedly. Light streamed in causing her to close her eyes. Four heavily armed guards entered. Using the wall as a support Carter pushed herself up to a standing position ready to defend herself. She was never given the chance. Before she could react, she was thrown back against the wall by a blast from a weapon one of the guards held, pain her last thought before she passed out.
Carter really did hate this room. She had woken up too many times now chained to the table and Reynarc staring smugly at her. She was still dazed from her most recent encounter with Reynarc's guards barely able to focus.
"Samantha, it has been awhile since we have had the chance to visit. Did you enjoy yourself while you were away?"
She was tired of playing games with Reynarc; she did not reply.
Reynarc's smile disappeared with Carter's silence. "I have not forgotten, Samantha, that you tried to escape and killed one of my guards."
Silence.
"I could make life much easier for you if you tell me what I want to know."
Silence.
"Tell me about the Volostrians' weapon and I will let you go."
Silence.
Reynarc was losing his patience with Carter's silence. "Very well" he motioned for the guard standing by the door, "show Major Carter how we reward silence in our guests."
"It hurt." She paused and closed her eyes as if reliving the nightmare.
O'Neill did not know what she meant by this statement. He was not sure he really wanted to know.
The guards placed the hood back over her head so she could not see the new "guest accommodations" she was being taken to. She assumed they had arrived when a guard pushed her roughly against a wall and grabbed her arms tightly binding them and her hands behind her back with a rope. She could feel another rope being attached to her bound hands and Reynarc's voice.
"Begin."
She felt the rope tighten and her arms suddenly pulled up behind her. Agonizing pain ripped through her arms and shoulders as the guards pulled the rope tighter. When her feet left the floor, she wanted to scream but refused to give Reynarc the satisfaction.
"Enough. Remove the hood."
A guard jerked the hood off her head. She looked down with pain filled eyes to see Reynarc staring back at her. She tried to kick out with her legs at him, but the movement only caused more pain more agony.
"How does it feel, Samantha? I hope you are not too uncomfortable." He told her with a smile laughing as he turned and left the room.
Carter did not know how long she had been hanging minutes, hours, days? Through the agony, the suffering, she remained silent. The guards refused to allow the welcome oblivion of unconsciousness overtake her body dosing her with water when she passed out. The pain, the pain was unbearable. She could feel her shoulders being slowly ripped from their joints. She wanted to scream; she was going to scream if the anguish did not stop soon.
As if on cue, the door to her torture chamber opened and Reynarc entered. He walked up to Carter her head hanging lifelessly down toward her chest. He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face toward him. He saw the torment in her features and smiled. "I must say, Samantha, you have looked better" he said tracing her jaw with his finger.
Carter tried to jerk her head away from Reynarc's grasp; the movement sent searing daggers of agony through her arms. She grimaced and, a low, tortured moan escaped from her lips.
Reynarc's smile brightened at Carter's pain. He nodded to the guards. The rope holding her aloft was loosened; she was unconscious before she hit the floor.
'Carter.' She could hear Colonel O'Neill's voice but could not see him. It was too dark.
'Carter!' She did not know where he was.
"Sir?" She managed to croak out through her parched throat.
'Come on Major, you need to move.'
She was shivering. She could feel the cold seeping through the flimsy garment she wore. She tried to move. Burning pain radiated throughout her arms, shoulders, chest. She groaned.
"H..h…hurts."
'I know it does, but you need to get up before he comes back.'
"W…w…where are y…y…you, sir?"
'You can't let him break you'
'Samantha…' A new voice, familiar, cut through the darkness. 'I'm hurt. You will talk to him but you will not talk to me.'
"Don't know anything."
'I will let you go, just tell me what I want to know.'
"No."
'Next time will be worse.'
Time passed slowly, her only companions were the voices that filled the silent void in her mind waging a battle for her sanity.
She sat pressed against the far wall of the cell with her knees pulled up for warmth and head down. She still trembled uncontrollably. She heard the lock to her cell, "they're coming, sir," she whispered.
'You will not quite on me, Major.'
She did not respond.
O'Neill was in his quarters on base when the klaxons started blaring. He spent the majority of his free time here or in Carter's lab, waiting, hoping for information about Carter. It seemed the entire SGC had given up hope except him and he could not do a damn thing about it. So he waited.
"Unscheduled offworld activation." The announcement echoed throughout the SGC. "SG-1 to the control room."
He entered the control room as the wormhole opened against the closed iris. He was greeted by General Hammond and SG-1. "General, Daniel, T, what's up?"
"I don't know, Colonel."
"It's the Volostrians, General. Minister Hvas is requesting to speak with you." The gate technician replied.
"Well it's about damn time." O'Neill blurted out interrupting Hammond before he could respond.
"Colonel" Hammond said shooting him a quick verbal reprimand although his facial expression agreed with the outburst.
"Sorry, General."
"On screen."
The familiar face of Minister Hvas appeared. "Minister Hvas," Hammond greeted, "it has been some time since we heard from you. Do you have any news on the whereabouts of your scientists and Major Carter?"
"We have recently ascertained the location of the Midgren base." Hvas announced, "It is a highly fortified facility. We are confident that Major Carter is being held there."
"This is good to hear Minister. We would like to take part in the rescue attempt of your people and the Major."
The minister hesitated before he responded. "General Hammond, Volostra has recently completed assembly of the pulse cannon we had hoped Major Carter would assist us with. We intend to destroy the facility and quail the Midgren insurgency."
O'Neill exploded from behind Hammond. "Son of a bitch!"
Hammond ignored the outburst, "Minister Hvas, are you saying you are not going to attempt a rescue of your people before you destroy the facility?"
"No, General Hammond, we feel the death of the scientists will be an acceptable lose if we succeed in crippling the Midgren insurgency."
"Over my dead body!" O'Neill erupted again.
"Colonel!"
"Minister Hvas," Hammond paused trying to compose himself. "Killing your own people may be acceptable to you, but I'll be damned if I let you kill someone under my command."
"I am sorry, General, the decision has already been made."
With those words, the transmission ended, the screen turning black mimicking the mood in the control.
"General, you can't…"
"Colonel, SG-1, in my office." Hammond interrupted effectively cutting the plea off before it began. Once the door was closed, SG-1 began pleading their case.
"General, please tell me you are not going to let that smarmy weasel kill Carter."
Hammond looked at the three men standing in his office. Their expressions were imploring him to fight for Major Carter's life. "Right now my hands are tied. Unless we know the location of the Midgren facility, we are in no position to mount a rescue." They knew he was right although they did not want to admit the truth. Carter was going to die.